Terracotta has recently acquired another Java development company, called
EHCache. This merger leaves experts anticipating a future acquisition of the new company by the
VMWare / SpringSource conglomerate. Both Terracotta and EHCache provide similar and complementary services to the area of expertise in which VMWare and SpringSource previously activated.
Terracotta, an open-source Java caching vendor, has been providing a solution to cluster JVM together by introducing cluster-aware code in Java applications at runtime as classes are being loaded. This is very similar to the behavior of other VMWare or SpringSource products, hence all the rumors.
Meanwhile,
EHCahce, an Australian-based firm has been creating open source caching solutions that have been actively implemented into other Java-based products, like Hibernate ORM, Alfresco CMS, Spring Framework and Liferay. After the merger, all EHCache development will be continued, still remaining an open-source solution licensed under the Apache 2 License. The main development page for EHCache will still remain on SourceForge, Terracotta having copyrights and decision making powers inside the company.
As a clause in the merger,
EHCache founder and lead developer Greg Luck will join the Terracotta staff. “The timing of this is perfect for both Ehcache and Terracotta. Reflecting on it with Amit Pandey, CEO and Ari Zilka, CTO of Terracotta Inc, we realized that this would not have happened a year ago and may not have happened a year from now,” said Greg Luck on his
blog.
Commenting on this move, Ari Zilka said that “We now have a very well rounded solution for Enterprise Java applications.“ He added that “The two together will provide the most seamless path from 1 node up to 100. Instead of having to worry about which version of EHCache Terracotta supports, or if your EHCache integration will work well with Terracotta, EHCache's and Terracotta's users alike can rest assured the two will always work in perfect harmony from today forward.”
After this acquisition, Terracotta is now positioned as one of the leading companies in Java caching, a real alternative to corporate solutions like Oracle Coherence, WebSphere eXtreme Scale or GigaSpaces.
